Round 2
Here's the next round.
Q: If USC loses the NC game to a Georgia or Oklahoma will PC still be "pumped" or "excited" or "thrilled" ?
A: He will be pumped, excited and thrilled to play the opening game of the following season.
Q: Will special teams be heavily addressed during the spring? Improvements are needed in both punt coverage and punt blocking. Any chance that Beuhler will lose his PAT & FG responsibilities to any of the walk-on’s?
A: Heavily addressed? No more than usual, because the roster is depleted in spring drills and many true freshman participate in special teams because of the this. Besides, both kicking positions are set and none of the walk-ons can challenge David Buehler, unless he missed 20 field goals in a row.
Q: It seems like the Trojans, more than other teams, throw the quick pass to the slotback. Far too often, it is a backward pass, far too often, it is fumbled, thus making it a free ball.
So, my question is: Is this just poor coaching, or am I missing something here,i.e. is there a good reason for all these dropped backward passes to be happening, thus giving the opponent great chances at a turnover, and even a runback?
A: It is a deliberate decision by the coaches to have the ball caught behind the line. A few times the past couple seasons the refs did not call it a fumble even though the USC receiver dropped the ball behind the line. It's a play that's never made sense to me and seems to court disaster but continues to be used regularly.
A couple of things:
Perhaps Scott misspoke (miswrote, whatever) but catching the ball "behind the line" doesn't have anything to do with anything. It comes down to whether the ball was thrown forward, or laterally/backwards. A ball that's thrown forward (and behind the line) is a pass, and thus, can only be caught, intercepted, or dropped. It can never be a live "fumble" upon hitting the ground. However, a backwards pass (or lateral) is considered the same as a pitch or handoff, no matter what kind of angle it comes out of the quarterbacks hands (overhand/side arm/underhand). If a backwards pass/lateral is dropped, it is a fumble and a live ball.
I have cursed the television many a time while watching SC throw the ball backwards (see Rose Bowl/miracle recovery and run by McKnight) because it is needlessly dangerous. The only reason to keep the ball live (throw it backwards) would be to have the receiver/running back then throw the ball downfield, or to set that play up at a later time. It seems to me that Sarkisian thinks the defense will not pursue the receiver as aggressively because of the threat of him throwing again.
Of course, I think this is flawed reasoning because SC so infrequently throws a second pass off a lateral (now that Mike WIlliams and Reggie Bush are gone), that they should just throw the doggone ball forward, but what do I know, I'm just a fan.
Fight on!
Interesting. I was thinking that the receiver intentionally takes a few steps back, and thus makes this a backwards pass, to ensure separation from a defender playing bump and run D on the line. This play is supposed to set up a 1 on 1 situation where our more athletic receivers can exploit the conerback for a relatively easy gain of 5-7 yards. And, it is supposed to be such an easy, undefended pass behind the line that it is almost as safe as a hand-off on a running play. ALMOST being the most operative term, as we do see a number of backwards pass fumbles. It seems that this play was effective in the Chow days, but is now such a staple, that the defense has learned to cheat on the play and rush in on the WR quickly. Also, WR drops or tipped QB passes are a concern. Agree that the risk/reward ratio is questionable. That's just my take.
It's really simple.
The backwards pass (lateral) has different rules than the forward pass in terms of blocking.
On any run play, the linemen can release and block downfield without worry of being deemed an ineligible receiver downfield.
On a pass play, if the linemen release too early then the offense will be flagged for ineligible receiver downfield.
So the strategy is simple. A backwards pass (lateral) has the effectiveness of getting a skill player out in space like on a pass play, but with the advantages of downfield blocking and gap creation as on a run play. This helps put bodies on the linebackers and safeties to allow the runner the chance to gain more yards than if the play happened under normal pass rules.
The worry about the fumble is a risk that the coaching staff apparently believes can be mitigated through practice, and that is outweighed by the benefits of getting the skill players in space.
Also, the pass is only a lateral/backwards pass if the line formed by Point A (where the ball is released from the QB's hand) and Point B (the point of contact between the ball and the player/ground) does not advance forward.
Just because a player is behind the line of scrimmage does not mean it is not a forward pass--for example, a shovel pass that is dropped is an incomplete pass, even though it all happens behind the line of scrimmage.
Good analysis from the previous posters. Let me add one thought:
USC has relied too much on the bubble screen to where opponents expect that it is coming and will jump the route. Indeed, in the ASU game at the Coliseum in 2006, USC called that play, and the ASU CB jumped the route and had any easy interception-for-a-TD. Perhaps USC needs to counter that by running a fake bubble screen, have the CB jump the route, but send that WR on a fly pattern right past the CB.
It is a high-risk, low-reward play. There is a greater chance of a fumble (if the ball travels backward) or INT. Also, it is infrequent that the WR busts it for a long gain of 20+ yards.
I agree Mike, I've been calling for a "fake bubble screen" for years. You have to mix it up in this day and age. Other teams have seen all of your game film. They know your tendencies, and often times when teams play teams with more talent, they are more likely to take risks. (like jump the bubble screen)
Also, Thscotty. Your explanation seems reasonable, but I checked the rule book to get clarification. According to Article 10 of Section 3 of Rule 7 in the NCAA rule book (http://www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2006/2006_football_rules.pdf) "No originally ineligible receiver (linemen) shall be or have been beyond the neutral zone until a legal forward pass the crosses the neutral zone has been thrown." That leads me to believe that there would be no blocking advantage to be gained by throwing the ball backwards. The blocking advantage is gained simply by throwing the ball behind the line of scrimmage.
You may be correct about the "buffer zone" gained by the receiver when he backs up, but I still don't think the risk/reward is worth it. Our receivers simply aren't sure-handed enough to make it worth our while. I'd like to see Sark inject some verticality into the passing game, regardless of who quarterbacks this year (Mustain/Sanchez). I'm hoping that since JD Booty's weakness was putting air under the ball, that either of these two will show better touch in the long game.
By the way, I caught a portion of Sports Center where they were talking about QB's Wonderlick scores and I thought they mentioned JD Booty as being one of the lower scores. Did anyone hear the whole story? I'm not sure I caught it right, but if I heard what I thought I heard, it couldn't have been good. Although I'm sure it at least doubled VY's score. What did he get, a 6?
HEY GUYS------THAT WAS MY QUESTION-----GLAD IT DREW INTEREST----------I AGREE WITH SW-----ALSO, IF WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE USING IT. I AGREE 100% THAT WE HAVE TO MIX IT UP WITH A FLY PATTERN--------SEE MY ORIGINAL QUESTION ON THE FORUM------ANYWAY, BOTTOM LINE, THANX SW AND THE REST OF YOU.